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“The Lord Kept Sharon in the Faith” (Psalm 121; John 6:35-40) Dear family members, church members, I must confess, you have an advantage on me: You’ve known Sharon a lot longer than I have. Family members--you, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren--you have known Sharon literally your entire life. Church members, many of you have known her for ten, fifteen, twenty years or more. Me? I’ve only known Sharon for just one year. So you all have the advantage on me on that. You have a lot more memories to share with one another than I have. But, in serving as...

The publishers of the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday urging safety for their colleagues and journalists operating in Afghanistan. The letter reads: Dear President Biden: For the past twenty years, brave Afghan colleagues have worked tirelessly to help The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal share news and information from the region with the global public. Now, those colleagues and their families are trapped in Kabul, their lives in peril. As employers, we are looking for support for our...

Taliban leader was freed from Guantanamo Bay in 2014 swap by Obama When then-President Barack Obama released five Taliban commanders from the Guantanamo Bay prison in exchange for an American deserter in 2014, he assured a wary public the dangerous enemy combatants would be transferred to Qatar and kept from causing any trouble in Afghanistan. In fact, they were left free to engineer Sunday’s sacking of Kabul.

Officials of the terror group in Gaza said it proves that “the resistance of the peoples—foremost of which is our struggling Palestinian people—is destined for victory.

Join together with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holi-ness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2Religion Fo-rum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

The United States’ controversial withdrawal from Afghanistan has left it teetering at the edge of an abyss as the country is facing a nationwide Taliban resurgence. Amidst an increasingly deteriorating security situation throughout large parts of the country, fears that Taliban forces could soon overrun the entirety of Afghanistan have become all too real, possibly reverting the situation on the ground back to that before the 2001 U.S. invasion in the long term. While the withdrawal of U.S. troops and their NATO allies has been praised by some and heavily criticised by others, there is one thing seemingly everyone can...

President Joe Biden has said he stands "squarely" behind the US exit from Afghanistan as he faces withering criticism over the Taliban's lightning conquest of the war-torn country. "How many more American lives is it worth?" asked the Democratic president. He said that despite the "messy" pullout, "there was never a good time to withdraw US forces". ... Kabul was the last major city in Afghanistan to fall to a Taliban offensive that began months ago but accelerated in recent days as they gained control of territories, shocking many observers. Mr Biden returned on Monday to the White House from...

Reduced numbers may afford an opportunity ‘to reimagine the institutional Church’Evidence of Christian belief in Ireland today “has for all intents and purposes vanished,” Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has said. This “underlying crisis of faith” was “particularly acute among the younger generations,” he said. “Public commentary in the media in Ireland has not been positive in its understanding of the Church and its need for vocations, and for public support of those trying to preach the Gospel,” he said. Archbishop Farrell made the comments in an interview with the 2021 edition of ‘Síolta’, the annual journal of the...

In Irish 4 Reproductive Health v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (ND IN, Aug. 12, 2021), an Indiana federal district court dismissed a suit challenging rules, as well as a settlement agreement, exempting Notre Dame University from the contraceptive coverage mandate of the Affordable Care Act. The court said in part: With the Rules having been upheld by the Supreme Court, I can’t really say that the Settlement Agreement itself is causing injury to the Plaintiffs because the same result the Settlement Agreement provides Notre Dame (exempting it from the contraceptive coverage mandate) is equally provided by the...

The university said state and federal law requires it, but won’t point to specific examplesThe University of San Diego is a Catholic higher education institution. But its health plan for the 2021-2022 school year covers a number of medical procedures and drugs that are directly opposed to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church. The university said that it is required to cover the services, including abortion, sex-change surgeries, voluntary sterilization and abortifacient birth control due to state and federal law. A spokesperson would not explain which laws require it. “USD’s employee and student benefit plans are required to align...

Pope Francis warned against misuse of the liturgy that places an emphasis on ideology in a video message sent Friday to a Latin American conference on religious life. “Let us not forget that a faith that is not inculturated is not authentic. For this reason, I invite you to participate in the process that will provide the true sense of a culture that exists in the soul of the people,” Pope Francis said in the video sent on Aug. 13. “When this inculturation does not take place, Christian life, and even more so the consecrated life, ends up with the...

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann provided a brief update on the progress of a report on the 2020 election audit conducted in Maricopa County. The Republican leader said the companies contracted to conduct the review, led by Cyber Ninjas, are putting together a report on their findings from the audit, which has been subject to intense criticism by county officials and others, including Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs , who has cast the audit as a "political stunt " meant to cast doubt on election integrity. "Confirming audit companies are preparing the draft report to present to the senate...

Is Afghanistan a gift to China? As China begins to build more electric cars they are facing a problem with rare earth elements. They can pull some from Africa, but the optics are terrible and child labour is the norm. Australia is in an economic war with China and much of what they need to compete is denied them. Tesla has the advantage of resources, but BYD and MG want to successfully enter this market. To be successful, China would have to kowtow to Australia - something they have decided not to do. Enter "China Joe". The deals his son...

... Pressure continued to mount as other countries, including France and Israel, approved boosters for those who are immunosuppressed. Without official action, patients have also taken matters into their own hands. The CDC estimated that more than 1 million people who have received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine have gone back for an unauthorized booster shot. The estimated 1.1 million, included in an internal CDC briefing document reviewed by ABC News, likely is an undercount because although it counts Moderna and Pfizer shot recipients, it ignores people who may have received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine but got another...

Despite the Taliban's long history of oppression of women and iron-fisted rule, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price Monday urged Afghanistan's new leaders to form an inclusive government that had women in it.

Shortly after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the new rules on Aug. 3, a sign appeared in the front window of Pasticceria Rocco, a pastry shop and diner in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn: “We do not discriminate against any customer based on sex, gender, race, creed, age, vaccinated or unvaccinated. All customers who wish to patronize are welcome.” “For me, it’s not political — most of my customers are vaccinated,” said Mary Josephine Generoso, who manages the eatery. “It’s about civil liberties and freedoms. Now we have to be in a society where people can’t roam freely and enter my place...

Gov. DeSantis "As of today, the Camping World Stadium in Orlando will serve as a monoclonal antibody treatment site, open 7 days a week, with a capacity of 320 patients a day. Expanding access to this treatment will help our most vulnerable stay out of the hospital and save lives." Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has unveiled a set of monoclonal antibody centers to help in the battle against surging COVID-19 cases in the state. In a statement on Thursday, DeSantis shared the state has opened a monoclonal antibody center in Jacksonville, saying that state officials will explore adding other...

Veterans from all eras are reacting to the events in Afghanistan, such as the U.S withdrawal and the takeover by the Taliban. You are not alone. Veterans may question the meaning of their service or whether it was worth the sacrifices they made. They may feel more moral distress about experiences they had during their service. It’s normal to feel this way. Talk with your friends and families, reach out to battle buddies, connect with a peer-to-peer network, or sign up for mental health services. Scroll down for a list common reactions and coping advice. Resources available right now: Veterans...

Five states broke records for the average number of daily new Covid cases over the weekend as the delta variant strains hospital systems across the U.S. and forces many states to reinstate public health restrictions. The states with higher vaccination rates are seeing fewer Covid patients take up hospital beds. Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Oregon and Mississippi all reached new peaks in their seven-day average of new cases per day as of Sunday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. On a per capita basis, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida are suffering from the three worst outbreaks...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated in an interview released on Monday that the two Republicans she rejected to serve on the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection could be scrutinized as part of its work. During an interview with The 19th News, Pelosi said that she vetoed Republican Reps. Jim Banks (Ind.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio) from serving on the committee because she thought they were "outrageous" and "not serious." "I mean, they probably - " Pelosi began, adding, "Well, we'll see what the committee finds out about them, but they weren't going to be on the committee." "There...